1. ONMS
  2. MPNMS
  3. Shipwrecks
  4. Dertona

Dertona

Close up of Dertona (circled in red) as part of a larger image mosaic that utilized drones
Close up of Dertona (circled in red) as part of a larger image mosaic that utilized drones. (Source: Duke University/NOAA).

Ship Stats

Aerial drone photographic mosaic of Mallows Bay, Maryland. Location of Dertona is circled in red.
Aerial drone photographic mosaic of Mallows Bay, Maryland. Location of Dertona is circled in red. (Source: Duke University/NOAA).

State ID: 18CH537

Vessel Type: Merchant vessel (steamship)

Location: 38°28'27.84"N, 77°16'0.37"W (38.47440, -77.26677) (Duke University, 2016)

Length: 308 feet

Breadth: Not determined

Deadweight Tonnage: 4,000

Builder: Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation, Portland, Oregon

Owner: Titled to the State of Maryland under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act

Flora & Fauna: Dense vegetation covers the entire vessel

Significance: United States Shipping Board vessel built for World War I effort

Wreck Site

The bow section of Dertona is among the most dramatic and architecturally valuable for interpretation of any of the remaining vessels. Although densely covered by vegetation, the hull shows fire trauma, which has exposed planking and frame patterning. The concrete frames in the bow provided support for the hull, which is double planked on the outer-hull in herringbone fashion. Melted ferrous sheets, reduced by intense heat, were found in several locations aboard, occasionally even melted into the woodwork. Although its location has moved, Dertona has been in Mallows Bay, Maryland, since 1929.

Moosabee and Dertona, two of the Three Sisters wrecks (lower left hand corner of the image)
Moosabee and Dertona, two of the "Three Sisters" wrecks (lower left hand corner of the image), located in Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary. (Photo: Tyler Smith/NOAA).

Historical Background

Dertona was built by Supple and Ballin of Portland, Oregon, in 1918. Dertona was modeled in the Supple and Ballin-type design, as opposed to a Ferris-type or Hough-type wooden cargo vessel, designed by Fred A. Ballin of the same company. This vessel type included steel topside construction and other features reinforced with steel, and utilized a single-screw, two-deck, three-island type overall design. The vessel type was longer and had a higher deadweight tonnage capacity. By using this model, the size of timbers could be smaller while still increasing carrying capacity with reinforced steel. This was one of the trade offs in the design process, where certain locations had the ability to use different material to produce the contracted vessels. On May 1, 1918, the Supple and Ballin Company claimed a new American wooden ship construction record by assembling and placing 79 frames in a new vessel in a total working time of 44 hours.

Interior view of Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation construction of vessel Airlie
Interior view of Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation construction ofvessel Airlie, July 16, 1918. (Source: National Archives).
Wooden ship construction at Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation
Wooden ship construction at Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation, July 31, 1918. (Source: National Archives).
Wooden ship construction for the United States Shipping Board at Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation
Wooden ship construction for the United States Shipping Board at Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation, August 15, 1917. (Source: National Archives).
Wooden ship construction for the United States Shipping Board at Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation.
Wooden ship construction for the United States Shipping Board at Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation, August 15, 1917. (Source: National Archives).
Main deck view of wooden ship construction, vessel unidentified
Main deck view of wooden ship construction, vessel unidentified, at Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation, July 13, 1917. (Source: National Archives).
View showing interior construction of unknown vessel
View showing interior construction of unknown vessel at Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation, June 26, 1917. (Source: National Archives).
Wooden ship construction for the United States Shipping Board at Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation
Wooden ship construction for the United States Shipping Board at Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation, August 15, 1917. (Source: National Archives).